Having realised the potential damage that the newly introduced Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime could cause to the party prospects in the next month’s polls in Gujarat, the Narendra Modi Government is in the course correction mode and is likely to dole out sops to SMEs and trading community at large.

The November 10 meeting of the GST Council scheduled to be held in Guwahati is likely to make drastic changes in the GST regime and remove a large list of goods and commodities accessed by the middle class and the upper middle class form the ambit of the high rate of 28 per cent. The thinking with in the government, sources said, was that only top end luxury items and commodities including high end automobiles should be placed in the 28 per cent category and majority of the items should be moved down to the 18 or 12 per cent category.

Sources said the government was concerned about the possible fallout of the new GST regime and the resentment prevailing among the trading and business community, a major vote bank of BJP, and would look to address their concerns in order to assuage their feelings. “One of the most impacted by the GST regime has been the SMEs which are badly reeling under the adverse impact of the new indirect taxation system. They are badly hit as a large number of the business conducted by them falls in the 28 per cent structure which had led to slowdown in business and subsequent layoffs. This is the core constituency that the GST Council would seek to address during the Guwahati meeting,’’ a senior official remarked. Interestingly, India is home to around 56 million SMEs who have been badly hit by the demonetisation last year and then introduction of GST in July this year.

The Tax Rate Fitment Committee, a panel of central and state officials assisting the GST Council, has been engaged in the task of scrutinising the list of items in the highest slab to identify items which need to be taken out from the 28 per cent and 18 per cent tax structure. The sentiment in the official circles is that in order to encourage SMEs to become part of the new GST regime and increase their tax contribution indirect tax regime from 5 per cent to 10 to 15 per cent, rationalising of the rates was very important.

In fact, as stated by Finance Minister, Arun Jaitely recently, the idea is to retain only so-called sin goods such as cigarettes, the consumption of which the state wants to discourage, in the highest tax slab.

The GST Council will also consider further changing the liberal quarterly tax filing scheme called composition scheme meant for SMEs.

In its last meeting on October 6, the Council shifted items such as stones used in flooring other than marble and granite, stationery items such as paper clips, poster colours, some diesel engine parts and parts of pumps from 28% to lower slabs. The tax regime has 5%, 12%, 18% and 28% slabs and cess on some items falling in the highest slab.

India has shown the largest positive change— 7-point increase in Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhoea (GAPPD) score—in the 2017, according to the latest Pneumonia and Diarrhea Report.

This is largely due to changes in vaccine coverage of measles vaccine (MCV1), Haemophilus influenzae type B vaccine (Hib), three doses of diphtheria tetanus and pertussis vaccine (DTP3), and rotavirus vaccine (RVV). In India, these percentages translate to a substantial increase in the number of vaccinated children.

The report,” 2017 Pneumonia and Diarrhea Progress Report: Driving Progress through Equitable Investment and Action’’ says India could save over US$ 1 billion each year in economic benefits and avert more than 90,000 needless child deaths each year by introducing and scaling up coverage of vaccination programs targeting pneumonia and diarrhea.

Pointing out that India had the highest percent of children less than five years old with suspected pneumonia taken to an appropriate health care provider (77%), the report says this despite children less than five with diarrhea receiving Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS) treatment was low (34%).

The report further says that India had the highest percent of children less than 6 months of age exclusively breastfeeding (65%). Exclusive breastfeeding protects infants from pneumonia and diarrhea.

India recently began phased introductions of rotavirus vaccine in 2016 (9 states introduced so far) and pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) in 2017 (3 states introduced so far). Following India, the neighbouring country of Bangladesh (+5) experienced the largest GAPPD score change and fared well with over 90% coverage of PCV.

In 2016, pneumonia and diarrhea were responsible for one of every four deaths in children under 5 years of age.Figures released by UNICEF earlier this month show thatprogress against these illnesses has been stubbornly slow, despite these deaths being largely preventable with strategic investments in interventions such as vaccines, antibiotics, oxygen, breast feeding and hand washing.Released today, the some light on the factors slowing progress against the world’s two biggest killers of young children.

The Progress Report is issued by the International Vaccine Access Center at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and provides an update on efforts to prevent and treat pneumonia and diarrhea in the most heavily burdened countries. This scorecard, released annually to mark World Pneumonia Day in November, finds countries are making progress in increasing coverage of vaccines and breastfeeding goals, but treatment targets seem still far out of reach for most.Efforts to work and invest more strategically in all three areas – immunization, nutrition and treatment – are critical to meaningfully reducing the nearly 1.5 million childhood deaths that still occur each year as a result of pneumonia and diarrhea.

“The good news is that when we invest in child health, we save lives, ” says Kate O’Brien, MD, MPH, a professor in the Bloomberg School’s Department of International Health and IVAC’s executive director. “Sadly, there are significant gaps in reaching global targets to make sure that medicines, food and care get to that last child, living in the inner city or on a small rural farm. The success of investments in these countries demonstrates the potential to vastly improve equity, prioritizing the most vulnerable and catalyzing action to close those gaps.”

In the report, IVAC identifies the 15 countries with the greatest number of deaths from pneumonia and diarrhea among children under 5 years of age. IVAC then uses a scoring method based on the integrated Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhea (GAPPD) developed by the World Health Organization and UNICEF. A country’s “GAPPD score” measures the use of interventions that protect against, prevent and treat pneumonia and diarrhea. The higher the score, the more interventions are being used.

These interventions include vaccination; exclusive breastfeeding; access to care; and use of antibiotics, oral rehydration solution and zinc to treat the illnesses. These measures are known to prevent childhood deaths due to pneumonia and diarrhea and could help achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal target of reducing under-5 mortality to at least 25 per 1,000 live births by 2030.

GAPPD scores in 2017 varied widely from a low of 19 percent (Somalia) to a high of 69 percent (Tanzania), with all 15 focus countries falling below the 86 percent target for the overall GAPPD score. In 2016, the scores varied from 20 percent (Somalia) to 74 percent (Tanzania), virtually unchanged compared to this year’s scores.

Rotavirus vaccine coverage:Sudan and Tanzania achieved or exceeded the 90 percent target for rotavirus vaccine coverage. Ten of 15 countries failed to meet a threshold of 45 percent for this vaccine which prevents a substantial portion of diarrhea deaths and hospitalizations. This includes nine countries (Afghanistan, Chad, China, DRC, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Somalia) who had not yet introduced the vaccine and India, who began a phased introduction in 2016.

Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine coverage:Three of the 15 countries achieved or exceeded the 90 percent target (Sudan, Tanzania, and Bangladesh) for pneumococcal conjugate vaccine coverage. Six countries failed to meet a threshold of 45 percent, all of which had not yet introduced the vaccine in 2016 (Chad, China, India, Indonesia, Nigeria and Somalia).

Antibiotic treatment (suspected pneumonia): In the 11 of 15 countries with available data, antibiotic treatment ranged from 7 percent (Ethiopia) to 59 percent (Sudan). Two countries met or exceeded 45 percent of children with suspected pneumonia treated (Afghanistan and Sudan); nine countries did not, and data was not available for four countries. All countries were low-performing on this indicator (covering less than 70 percent children with suspected pneumonia).

ORS treatment (diarrhea): In the 14 of 15 countries with available data, ORS treatment ranged from 20 percent (Chad and Sudan) to 77 percent (Bangladesh). Four countries met or exceeded 45 percent of children with diarrhea receiving ORS (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Somalia, and Tanzania); 10 did not, and no data was available for China. All countries, except Bangladesh, were low-performing on this indicator (covering less than 70 percent children with diarrhea).

Breastfeeding:There is strong evidence demonstrating that about half of all diarrhea episodes and about one third of respiratory infections could be averted by breastfeeding. The GAPPD target for exclusive breastfeeding within the first six months of a child’s life is 50 percent coverage. Based on 2015 data, the report finds five countries met or exceeded the target (Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Sudan, and Tanzania). Nine of the 15 countries did not meet the target; of these, five countries met a threshold of 25 percent, half the target (Afghanistan, China, DRC, Indonesia, and Pakistan) and three did not (Chad, Niger, and Nigeria).

The report also captures the economic cost of the illnesses and sheds light on the complex relationship between childhood illnesses and poverty. Children in low-resource settings are at higher risk for illness; at the same time, pneumonia and diarrhea can contribute to the cycle of poverty. Costs of illness can include: lost wages for families caring for sick children; the cost of health care, a large portion of which is often paid by families; and the long-term consequences of illnesses on children, including lost schooling and the longer-term effects of repeated or severe illness.

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology-Roorkee have come up with a new, low-cost method for production of biofuels.

The collaborative research team led by Dr. Richa Katiyar, Centre for Transportation Systems, and Prof. B. R. Gurjar, Department of Civil Engineering and Centre for Transportation Systems, has for the first time investigated the use of crude glycerol (CG), for  cultivation of microalgae (namely, Chlorella sp.) in photobioreactor (PBR) to enhance automotive quality biodiesel production.

Speaking about the research Prof. B. R. Gurjar, said, “In today’s time, there is an ever-increasing demand for alternate fuel as the existing reserves of crude are depleting at a rapid rate. Traditionally, the production of biodiesel from microalgae has been a slow process and involves high production costs. Our focus was to overcome the cost related to production of the biodiesel from microalgae and develop a method, which will be fast and cost-effective.”

The cost of feedstock and expense of operation are two crucial cost components in biodiesel production. The cost of feedstock used for biodiesel production accounts about 60–70%, in the total cost of biodiesel production from microalgae. Moreover, the cost of the substrate used in micro algal based biodiesel production also contributes to a huge part of the total cost. Such high costs restrict the production and use of biodiesel.

In the method being employed by the researchers at IIT Roorkee, the team has used the algal based crude glycerol, which is a low-cost organic carbon source and the main by-product of the biodiesel production process. Crude glycerol works as a feedstock for cultivation of microalgae, thereby reducing the cost of the substrate to a negligible point. Moreover, the research has shown that the use of crude glycerol caused the enhancement in total lipid accumulation in the algal cells. The various analyses and testing post production of biodiesel using this method has shown a better quantity and quality of fuel and the fuel thus produced was also comparable to the existing vehicular fuel standards.

According to Dr Richa Katiyar, microalgae are considered as one of the superior resources for production of biodiesel, due to its ability to produce higher biomass and accumulate more lipids, which are the target material for biodiesel production. “To increase the rate of production and to make it cost-effective, we continuously employed the use of heterotrophic cultivation of microalgae using low cost organic carbon-based feed stocks such as agro waste, molasses, municipal and industrial wastes, algal based crude glycerol and fruits extracts,” she said.

 Â“This method used by the team is also beneficial to the environment as there is no biodiversity loss attached to it. Moreover, it increases waste minimization by using material like agro-waste and is able to produce enhanced quantity and quality of biodiesel,” Prof Gurjar added.

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday slammed the opposition for raising doubts and questioning the improvement in India’s ranking in World Bank ‘ease of doing business ‘ index. Taking a swipe at the Congress, he said those who worked with the World Bank are today raising doubts about India’s ranking.

“Today some people are expressing doubts about the improvement in India ‘s rankings. Many of these people are those who have worked with the World Bank. I am the kind of PM who hasn’t even seen the World Bank, when earlier people in my position had run the World Bank,” Mr. Modi said  at the presentation of India’s Business Reforms at Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.

In an oblique attack at the previous UPA Government at the Centre, Mr  Modi said, ”I want to tell them that had they done the kind of work we have, this achievement would have come during their tenure itself. They don’t want to work, but are quick to question those who do.”

The Prime Minister said the reforms undertaken by the NDA Government are far more extensive than those carried out by the previous government. 

”The Opposition didn’t do ‘big bang’ reforms. Now they’re without answers,” Mr Modi said at the event. World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva and Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu were present.

World Bank chief Kristalina Georgieva had described India’s jump of 30 places in World Bank’s ease of doing business ranking as “very rare”. “In reforms what pays off is persistence, what we are seeing is extraordinary achievement by India,” Ms Georgieva said.

The popular social messaging application WhatsApp has been hit by a major outage in India, US and UK at around 1:32 PM Indian Standard time. It stopped millions of people around the world to send or receive messages via WhatsApp chat application for more than 40 minutes, which created a moment of panic among many users around the globe.
The micro blogging site Twitter started trending with the hashtag #Whatsappdown within minutes as the Twitteratis complained of the WhatsApp breakdown in different parts of the world. The Whatsapp is owned by the social media giant Facebook.  
Very likely, users started switching their networks fearing that there are some glitches with their internet connection. Immediately, after checking it with friend and relatives to see if WhatsApp was not in order, people headed to Twitter for the confirmation.
The chat services have been hit also in Singapore, Mozambique, Vietnam, and Iraq with some parts of Malaysia and Indonesia. 

Panicked users instantly made memes to make fun of the global chat app, here are some takeaways.
Writer Chetan Bhagat tweets, “First we used to check neighborhood from balcony to see if light has gone for everyone else too,Now we check twitter to see if #WhatsAppdown”
Anshu Mor writes, “500 people in India have already died because Whatsapp is down and they couldn’t forward a chain message to 10 people. #WhatsappDown”
A Twitter handle named Shashwat tweets, “2 mins of silence for them who unistalled and then installed WhatsApp again #WhatsAppDown
Famous Satirical online site Faking News says, Â“BREAKING: Family members come face to face and have a tearful reunion in almost a decade thanks to #whatsappdown
The services of WhatsApp have been partially resumed in some parts of the country, but still some users are complaining about the breakdown as they are still unable to send or receive messages. WhatsApp official site has been very inactive when it comes to inform its users about any such outage. It has not been updated since 2014. 

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the international medical humanitarian organization, has announced that it had secured deals for generic hepatitis C medicines for as low as US$1.40 per day, or $120 per 12-week treatment course for the two critical medicines sofosbuvir and daclatasvir.

In the US, pharmaceutical company Gilead had launched sofosbuvir at $1,000 per pill in 2013, and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) launched daclatasvir at $750 per pill in 2015, leading to the original price tag of $147,000 for a person’s 12-week combination treatment course. “The corporations have also been charging exorbitant prices in many developing countries, paralyzing the launch of national treatment programs and causing treatment rationing in many countries around the world,’’ MSF said in a statement today.

In 2015, MSF started procuring sofosbuvir and daclatasvir from Gilead and BMS through their ‘access programs’ at a price of $1,400 to $1,800 per 12-week treatment. Today, MSF pays a fraction of that, at $120, sourced from quality-assured generic manufacturers.

An estimated 71 million people have chronic hepatitis C infection worldwide, 72 per cent of whom live in low- and middle-income countries. Direct-acting antiviral medicines (DAAs) represent a treatment breakthrough for people with hepatitis C, with cure rates of up to 95%, and with far fewer side effects than previous treatments. Yet access to DAAs has remained limited because pharmaceutical corporations charge unaffordable prices, leading many countries to reserve treatment only for people with the most advanced stages of the disease. By the end of 2016, three years after sofosbuvir was launched, only an estimated 2.1 million people globally had been treated with the medicines, leaving 69 million people still without access. 

These high prices have also put a major strain on health systems in wealthy countries, in particular those enacting universal health care. Treatment is being rationed in countries such as Canada, Italy and the US, in addition to developing countries, and is a stark reminder of the early days of HIV treatment.

Jessica Burry, Pharmacist for MSF’s Access Campaign said: “Pharmaceutical corporations price hepatitis C medicines far out of reach for people paying out of pocket around the world, and also for many governments struggling to provide treatment in the public sectors; but the prices for generic versions keep coming down. Governments must use every tool in their toolbox to fight for access to lower-priced generics so they can scale up treatment for the millions of people who need it; they should follow the lead of countries like Malaysia and issue compulsory licenses when patents block people’s access to this life-saving treatment.” 

MSF treats people with hepatitis C in 11 countries. Since 2015, MSF has provided DAA treatment to nearly 5,000 people with hepatitis C.  

New Delhi : A new study has pointed out that flooding in polluted rivers has the potential to make groundwater unsafe for human use. 

In December of 2015, when Chennai was flooded and people were marooned, a team of scientists from Anna University was collecting groundwater samples along the Adyar river to investigate if the groundwater in this region was fit for human consumption. 

Researchers collected water samples from 17 locations in December 2015 and April 2016, that is, during and after floods. They tested the samples for salt and heavy metal concentration, microbial load and their susceptibility to available antibiotics. 

“We wanted to know if the city water met water quality parameters laid down by the Bureau of Indian Standards during and post-flood”, Lakshmanan Elango, professor at the Department of Geology of Anna University, who led this study, told India Science Wire. 

The results showed that heavy metal and microbial load in groundwater samples was high. The samples contained microbes such as Enterobacter, Staphylococcus, Escherichia, Streptococcus, Vibrio, and Salmonella that are known to cause infections like dysentery, cholera, and typhoid in humans. These microbes were cultured with various antibiotics used in clinical practice to treat life-threatening infections, to know they were susceptible or resistant to drugs. 

“The bacteria were sensitive to most antibiotics but some were resistant to nalidixic acid, which is alarming as antibiotic resistance can rapidly spread in the environment”, said Prof Elango. The results of the study have been published in journal Nature Scientific Data. 

In addition, scientists found high genetic similarity between bacteria from various locations implying that they must have originated from a single domestic sewage source containing fecal matter. “Sewage must have washed off with flood water, which in turn inundates the wells that would have resulted in contaminating the ground water”, believes Prof Elango. 

“Our findings show that floods have the potential to impact the microbial quality of ground water in affected areas. Based on our study, we advise that wells must be chlorinated and the public must be warned to avoid consuming ground water for drinking, at least for some months post floods”, he added. 

The research team included Ganesan Gowrishankar, Ramachandran Chelliah, Sudha Rani Ramakrishnan, Vetrimurugan Elumalai, Saravanan Dhanamadhavan, Kartikeyan Brindha, Usha Antony, and Lakshmanan Elango. It was done in collaboration with the University of Zululand in South Africa and the National University of Singapore, and was funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST). (India Science Wire)

The Island nation of Sri Lanka is suddenly becoming a hot favourite with the Indian tourists. Last year it recorded one of the highest tourist arrivals from India. Mixing tourism with cricket has been a regular past practice. But now the Island nation is bullish about India and to cater to the growing wave of tourism into Sri Lanka and connecting these tourists with other destinations around the world especially South East Asia and China, the Srilankan Airlines, an alliance partner of OneWorld, has drawn up very ambitious plans.

As the number of tourist arrivals from India including the pilgrim tourists to the Buddhist circuits showing an upward trend, the Srilankan Airlines has already drawn up big expansion plans to tap the growing potential of the Indian market especially North India. 

Stating that India would be the focus for the Srilankan Airlines, its North India region Manager, Chinthaka Weerasinghe, who is leading the charge for its focus on Maldives, is upbeat about charting a new course with the Indian customer. Currently operating from 14 destinations in India with 125 flights per week, the airline is not resting on its laurels and has lined up much more offers to connect Indians to destinations like Male and Gan Island in Maldives, Sydney and Melbourne in Australia, Bangkok, Bali, Jakarta, Cambodia and destinations in China.

And leading the charge from this month-end will be the all new New Delhi-Melbourne flight which is already drawing lot of attention in shape of bookings. As Sri Lanka has one of the highest expatriate community living in Australian cities of Mebourne and Sydney, it is seeking to provide seamless connectivity now to Indians also traveling to Australia and New Zealand. In order to sustain the feasibility of these routes, the New Delhi-Melbourne flight is being started and is already open for bookings.

The Srilankan Airlines is seeking to tap the key markets of Delhi, Mumbai, Gujarat and Punjab for the New Delhi-Australian circuit. `We have come up with a schedule of double daily flights from Colombo with transit time of less than one and half hours. The total flight time from Delhi to Melbourne would be around 15 hours which is unique. Similarly, connectivity would also be provided on the same basis from New Delhi to Sydney,’’ Mr. Weerasinghe said.

In order to tap the huge potential of rich markets in Punjab and Gujrat, Srilankan Airlines has tied up with Vistara and some other local carriers to give special fares so that it could be coupled with Delhi Melbourne flight. And the response has been overwhelming. Aalready the Deli-Melbourne flight has seen 1200 bookings till now. The airline has also tied up with OneWorld alliance partners to give auto price rates through Sydney and other domestic points in Australia and New Zealand to make the route lucrative for passengers. 

Hold one,, the bonanza does not end with a very well managed flight schedule, the pricing is also very competitive as the New Delhi-Melbourne route price is coming to an attractive Rs. 43,000 all inclusive. The price for the Delhi-Sydney flight is also the same. The response has been amazing as this route is selling like hot cake in the North India market. The price for Business Class on this route would be around Rs. 95000.

Offering a whole compact package for the passengers, there is the attractive baggage policy with the economy class being allowed 30 Kg, Business Class 40 Kgs and 50 Kgs allowance for the students.

Mr. Weerasinghe said in addition to this, the focus would also be on regional routes at Asia and South Asia. China is a big market for us and Srilankan Airlines has good connections to Bangkok, Indonesia.“We are looking at consolidation in India with a larger focus to get Indian tourists on our national airlines. Tourism has been a big attraction with a double digit growth along with wedding, leisure and MICE.

Mr. Weerasinghe said Srilankan Airlines has been operating for the longest time in India since 1979 from Bombay and Madras at that time. It commenced its Delhi operations from 1993 and now presently are in 14 destinations in India. “We are celebrating 25 years of operations from Delhi next year which speaks volumes about our services and commitment to the Indian market. We have 125 flights per week from India which we plan to increase to 134 flights in the coming months,’ he added.

Srilankan Airlines has over 28 frequencies given in the bilateral agreements and we are one of those airlines which has utilized these most making us the number one career in terms of points of operations. In terms of frequencies, we stand around third. On the cards is a double daily flight to Mumbai. The Sri Lankan airlines gives a lot of importance to the Indian market which is indicated in the number of tourist arrivals from India into Sri Lanka. Last year nearly 3.75 lakh Indian tourists visited Sri Lanka making it the number of inbound tourist country. This year it is expected that this number will cross the 400,000 market. Over the years, the airline has mainly focused on the South Indian market but now has turned its focus on the Northern region sensing its huge potential. Plans are already afoot to open three new stations in India – Hyderabad, Vishakhapatnam and Coimbatore. DOubel daily flights from Delhi and Mumbai are now operated. The airlines has three flights from Kolkata which will soon be increased to four.

In addition to this, there is the chartered flights traffic to to Bodh gaya and Varanasi to cater to pilgrim traffic. After US, United Kingdom and Bangladesh, Sri Lanka ranks fourth in terms of tourist arrivals into India. The focus in the North Indian market is on leisure traffic and MICE. “We are seeking to build relationships with stakeholders and tour operators.

Speaking about the Maldives market, where Srilankan Airlines has a strong presence, Mr. Weerasinghe said the airline is quite established for the Maldives market in South India and Mumbai. In Delhi, there were initial hiccups due to single flight but now that has changed and we have a second flight operating from Delhi giving more choice and convenience to the tourists. Now Delhi is properly connected with Male and tourists can now reach their destinations in Maldives by evening instead of spending one night in Male. This brings down the tour expenses and also gives convenience to the tourist to plan their trip.

Srilankan Airlines is sure that the double daily flight from Delhi will give them more numbers for the Maldives market. The connectivity from the airline hub of Colombo is seamless as now five flights operate to Male. “We are also looking at guest houses and hotels to increase our volumes. Also last year, we were first operator to operate to Gan Island in Maldives. We have four flights a week, and we hope to increase it further. We need to give more options of connectivity to tourists going to Gan island to various resorts of Island destinations from there. We need to work with the industry, government and the resorts in Gan Island to increase the frequency of fights.

Similarly, with Colombo emerging as a major hub, Srilankan has been able to provide options to the Indian travelers. Now Indian tourist to go to Seychelles seamlessly and the pricing is also very competitive. The Seychelles route is doing fairly well in terms of traffic from India.

Faith of Kashmiris in the political system must be strengthened.

There is no alternative to resuming the stalled political dialogue.

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s hardline approach in tackling the protracted Jammu and Kashmir problem proving futile, he has been compelled to change tack and return to the negotiating table. This comes three years after Union Home minister Rajnath Singh had called such an exercise non-productive. 

The Valley has faced violent stalemate for much too long since Modi came to power at the Centre in May 2014. With barely twenty months remaining for the 2019 general elections Modi has acquiesce to the persistent demand for resuming the stalled political dialogue in the Valley. 

It is in this context that the Centre’s choice of Dineshwar Sharma, a former chief of the Intelligence Bureau, has been welcomed even though he is bound to be viewed with suspicion in the Valley. The saving grace is he does not carry any political baggage. The task at hand is complex and it will be naive for anyone to expect matters to be smooth. This is particularly so with the separatists reiterating that nothing short of independence will be acceptable to them. 

As the Centre’s Special Representative, Sharma has sought to remove any misgivings or doubts “of anyone being left out of the ambit of talks”. His endeavour will be to talk to everyone having stakes in J&K. The talks being a two way process it will depend on how much support he gets from all sections of Kashmiris encompassing politicians, students, businessmen and government employees.

He has already called on J&K Governor N N Vohra who has briefed him in detail of the situation. The Centre’s wants Sharma to address the legitimate aspirations of the Kashmiris. Any solution to the vexed Kashmir tangle has to be within the ambit of the Constitution. 

Having neutralised the terrorists to a considerable extent in the Valley, the Centre has created conditions for sitting across the table. It appears the announcement on October 23 for restarting the dialogue underlined the imperatives of democracy, mutual coexistence and democracy. 

The mood of the ordinary people in the Valley is one of extreme frustration wanting the prolonged spell of uncertainty to end. Legitimate aspirations mean different things to different people. To the separatists it means nothing short of secession and independence. They want the Centre to acknowledge that there is a dispute in J&K requiring resolution rather than refusing to accept this premise. 

To New Delhi legitimate does not mean compromising the suzerainty and territorial integrity of the country. Dealing with this complex situation has led to several previous interlocutors falling by the wayside. In the circumstances the ‘K’ word needs to be approached in the context of being the only Muslim majority state in the country. J&K remains an inalienable part of this country. 

It is hoped that the talks will infuse a sense of purpose and direction. The unthinkable PDP-BJP government in J&K has an “agreed agenda of governance” which appears to be taking shape now. 

The talks process revived by Modi believes in following the path of BJP stalwart and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It also took interminably long for J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti to assume control of the sensitive border state after the death of her father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. Being circumspect she did not want the mistakes of the past to be repeated. 

The first indication of the stalled political dialogue getting a fresh impetus came during Modi’s Independence Day address on August 15 when he emphasised “abuses and bullets cannot be the way forward in embracing Kashmiris”. The main question for the Modi government at the Centre is does it have the will and determination to get things moving. It encompasses among other aspects Indo-Pak relations, a volatile regional balance, a hardline opposition and the need to think out of the box for breaking the stalemate. 

What is encouraging is the realisation at the Centre that there is imperative need to go beyond the security measures. For Mehbooba making such a dialogue meaningful will be challenging. The security situation has deteriorated ranging from militant attacks on Kashmiri policemen and regular ceasefire breaches by Pakistan on the border. A new generation of youth has taken to militancy over last four years since 2013. 

The drift and anxiety in the Valley is the protest amid allegations of “braid chopping”. Sharma wants to get started and is expected to be in J&K from next Monday. He will spend the first four days in Srinagar and then move to Jammu on Friday and Saturday. 

This is the time for the actual stakeholders, the Kashmiris, to have a voice and be heard. Dialogue has, therefore, become vital more than ever before. 

Madras : The Indian Institute of Technology Madras has signed an agreement with Maschinenfabrik Reinhausen, a German High Voltage Technology firm and RWTH Aachen, a German University for carrying out research in Power Engineering and to support research in sustainability, electrical grids and related fields.

An MoU was signed by the German company and IITM on the occasion of the inauguration of the New Premises of the Indo-German Centre for Sustainability (ICGS) at IIT Madras.

Under the MoU, Maschinefabrik Reinhausen will sponsor a research project that will deal with the use of latest power semi-conductor devices for grid control.

The ICGS was established at IIT Madras to promote cooperation between German and Indian scientists on fundamental and applied research, teaching and training besides in dissemination of information in the area of sustainable development. The New Premises is located at the Bhupat and Jyoti Mehta School of Biosciences, IIT Madras.

It was inaugurated by Mr Achim Fabig, Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Chennai in the presence of Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT-Madras and Prof Ernst Schmachtenburg, Rector, RWTH Aachen University.

Speaking during the inaugural function, Mr Achim Fabig said “Questions of sustainability have become more and more pressing and important. The role of civil society has become even more important and centres like IGCS have a stronger role to play by coming up with solutions to the challenges being faced.”

The IGCS provides opportunities for researchers and students to work in the core areas: Sustainable Energy, Land-Use, Waste and Water management and Climate Change Adapatation. The new premises will provide more space for interactions, visiting faculty and staff.

According to Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi:“It is good to have a proper physical space where people can brainstorm on issues of importance. The IGCS is poised to focus on additional aspects of sustainability, which are beyond the agenda of the Govt. The major focus area, of the Centre, for next five years will be issues of sustainability, survival, coastal area resilience and so on.”

The ICGS was set up in 2010 with funding from both Germany, through the German Academic Exchange Program, DAAD, for exchange of scholars, and India through the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India) and IIT Madras for carrying out research. Its special focus is the protection of the environment considering water resources, energy, land use and rural development and waste management.

The Centre promotes the development of relevant ideas on and solutions to specific local issues, through interdisciplinary research and study projects in the above mentioned areas.